The Importance of Physical Fitness
Posted on Jul 14, 2009 under Lifetime Fitness | No Comment
Just what is the importance of physical fitness? Why are we exercising? No doubt, your answers to those questions will be varied, but the majority of you will focus on the physical aspects.
Your aim might be to attain lifetime fitness and to feel physically, more ‘alive.’ Perhaps you want to look more athletic and lose that unsightly belly fat or you may be in training for a sports event. Putting aside the physical benefits for a moment, have you ever considered your psychological health as a reason why physical fitness is so important?
Just how you treat your body, because of the way your bodily processes are connected, will either benefit or harm it. In the same way, your treatment of your physical body will affect your psyche. Your mental alertness, self-esteem and mood, as well as your physical appearance can be changed by exercise.
Just look around you and you will see that most of the people who suffer from low self-esteem, anxiety and depression have a common factor – obesity. The fact that these people have not grasped the importance of physical fitness has led to psychological problems.
To illustrate how your psyche is affected, any exercise routine such as an abs workout, forces your body to secrete neurochemicals or neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin that elevate your mood. This is why people feel enlivened and more ‘hyper’ after an exercise workout. So the benefits of attaining lifetime fitness through regular exercise are not just physical ones, the chemicals released help any psychological problems also.
Another answer to the question, ‘why is physical fitness so important,’ is that regular exercise can help also in the management of anger and stress. Have you noticed that some stressed people just simply walk off away from the source of the stress? After a brisk walk, they return feeling much better because, once again, beneficial chemicals have been released.
Walking allows you time to think, to see a different viewpoint, and become more level-headed and able to deal with the stressful situation.
Anger can be released through walking. You can go off and stomp your feet in private to exhaust your again into the ground and keep stomping until your anger subsides. By releasing your anger, you change your perception and mental alertness allowing smoother mental processes and better judgement.
The feeling of having so much more energy and flexibility together with being able to flatten your stomach is really going to boost your self-esteem. You will no longer worry about what people think, because you will know that, as well as feeling great, you look good.
There are exercises that focus on relaxation and calming your mind like yoga and tai-chi that also promote flexibility and balance. Other psychological benefits are help in relieving stress and managing anxiety and depression. You could say it is like being tranquilized without using sedatives or tranquilizers.
The importance of physical fitness is that it not only benefits your body, but your mind too. So, reap the benefits and start exercising today.